Women, Misogyny, and Male Characters' Arcs in the BBC's Robin Hood
As many problems as I have with the BBC Robin Hood, one thing I'll always be thankful for about my time in this fandom is what it taught me about how writers' misogyny can hurt all the characters, not just the women. What is unique about this show is that it starts off so well in this regard and gets progressively worse as it approached the end.
Season One introduces us to only two female main characters, but what characters they are! Lucy Griffiths' Marian of Knighton is a total badass and a nuanced, beli!evable woman: a rare combination even today. Anjali Jay plays Djaq, a Saracen woman passing as a man whose knowledge and medical skill continues to be valued after Robin and his gang learn she is a woman. Marian and Djaq are problem-solvers, not passive love interests in need of rescue. Marian is helping people in her community while Robin is off slaughtering Saracens in King Richard's name. I would have happily watched a show called The Nightwatchman set during that time and ending upon Robin's return (and probably enjoyed it more than the show we got!) But instead of recognizing the appeal of smart, strong women for female fans and leaning into it, showrunners Foz Allan and Dominic Minghella chose to downplay and even undermine these characteristics, supposedly to benefit the male characters.
Over the course of Season Two, Marian becomes more and more defined by her relationships with Robin and Guy; her primary form of agency is her influence over the latter. When she does try to act on her own, the narrative frames it as evidence of her heedlessness, and she is disciplined either indirectly by the outcome of her choices or directly by Robin. The final consequence of her taking matters into her own hands (instead of waiting for Robin like she SHOULD have done) is her death. Djaq fares a little better. She is more consistently written than any other woman on the show, but I find myself struggling to remember any scenes or exchanges with other characters in Season Two that stand out as brightly as in Season One. Once she and Will Scarlet become an established couple, she starts to fade into the background. Although she continues to treat ailments, she takes on the role of peace-keeper within the gang, a more traditionally feminine one than that of a learned doctor. The episode in which Marian dies is also her final episode, as though she could read the writing on the wall and wanted no part of what was to come in Season 3. I don't think anyone can blame her!
The showrunners appeared to think they could do more interesting things with Robin and Guy's rivalry without Marian at the center of it. One of the few things a majority of BBC RH fans can agree on is that they did not. It becomes clear very quickly that it is the men's relationships with Marian that make them interesting, not the other way around. Take away Robin's frustration and petty jealousy regarding Marian, and he's just a cookie cutter hero with a savior complex and a thirst for revenge. Take away the tension between Guy's desire for Marian and his obedience to the sheriff, and he's just a one-dimensional greedy, ambitious villain, now with crippling guilt and depression! Their grief over Marian does not make them more sympathetic towards women who are still alive; if anything they treat them worse for not being her! Isabella Thornton and Kate are two of the most criticized characters in Season Three, largely because they're given the narrative prominence of Marian without any of her nuance. Isabella goes from victim to villain so fast it will give you whiplash. Kate is the object of attraction to one man in Robin's gang after another while only being interested in him. Robin's dalliances with these two women only serve to confirm how strong his commitment to Marian is. Marian, Marian, Marian!
The Marian we meet in Season One was doing alright before Robin came home. Djaq would likely have used her medical knowledge to make herself indispensable even if Robin and his gang had not liberated her. They are presented to use as confident characters with the ability to navigate Medieval society even with all its prejudice against their gender and, in Djaq's case, race. Over the course of the last two seasons, the showrunners shrink them, subordinating them to the male characters without realizing that this shrinks those characters as well. Robin and Guy are more interesting with Marian around than they could ever be in her absence. The gang dynamics are more interesting when they give Djaq the credit she is due. I don't know the reasons behind these writers' choices, but watching this show has left me much more willing to interrogate writers' choices regarding women. Some of the questions I will ask of a female character, what are her goals, and if she has none, whose goals is she advancing? Is she skilled in any particular way, and how are her skills utilized? What role does she play in the male protagonist's arc? Is she there to support and inspire him, or does she challenge him as well? When she disagrees with men, is she ever in the right?
